Today’s post is written by Toni Boudreault, Head of Graphic Design for MyBinding.com.

Each month at MyBinding.com, we produce at least one Promo Flyer and one series of Coupons, both of which feature assorted equipment, supplies and special price reductions. In months like November and December we are faced with creating additional promotions for Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Year End Clearances. These web postings are accompanied by a series of Email blasts to our clients informing them of the savings opportunities being offered. As the Graphic Designer responsible for their production, the real trick is to make all of these as visually engaging as possible, encouraging visitors to stick around and surf our site. Push all those pixels until they’re pretty!

There are so many websites vying for attention that a thoughtless, cookie-cutter approach such as simply plunking some photos on a grid with some color, a gradient here and there, and product specs would be an epic fail. Poorly designed graphics have the potential to actually repel traffic (ever noticed all the awful signage on Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway? Eww!), therefore these projects cannot be thrown together without strongly considering the power of good aesthetics. This is especially important because these postings become our main page, in essence our identity, for days at a time.

I’ve addressed this challenge by applying a distinct theme to each project and utilizing detailed, vector illustrations. For instance, a “prices slashed” slogan brought to mind images of a saber, which led to my building that particular promotion around a pirate theme (Captain Jack, anyone?). I also draw inspiration from the season (July was “hot deals” and melting ice cream bars. Mmmm, chocolate…) and upcoming holidays (Halloween!). This thematic approach affords the opportunity to create a colorful, cohesive backdrop, giving our products a much more appealing scene on which to languish and be presented in the most attractive way. Sexy office equipment? Alluring presentation supplies? Pretty pixels can be pretty powerful.

Boudreault comes to MyBinding.com with eight years of experience in the design world. Originally from California, Boudreault moved to the Pacific Northwest while serving in the Air Force. Several years after finishing military service, she settled in Oregon and attended the Portland Art Institute, graduating with a degree in Graphic Design in 2004. Boudreault landed a position at Cedar House Media, where she was responsible for a variety of print and graphic design tasks. After choosing to leave when the position was restructured, she has been doing freelance work for about a year.

“Freelance is great for the flexible schedule and creating highly custom contracts,” said Boudreault. “You can meet clients wherever is most convenient for them.”

Boudreault does regular gigs for the City of Beaverton, Daphne’s Creamery, Zoe’s Meats, Yioryo Olive Oil, local author Sheron McCartha, hVault, and others. Many of these were introduced to her work while she was at Cedar House and chose to stick with her designs when she left that company. However, when the opportunity for a regular part-time position at MyBinding.com became available, she excitedly applied.

“Freelancing is fun but it can be highly irregular and antisocial,” Boudreault said when asked what drew her to the MyBinding position. “I’m enjoying being part of a team again and working with others on a regular basis.”

At MyBinding.com, Boudreault is the head of the graphic design team. She is responsible for creating coupons, promos, logos, web images, call-to-action screens, video splash screens, brochures, and anything else needed by the company. She has also delved into the world of HTML, posting regular promos she creates for the website. Boudreault is working specifically for the marketing team but occasionally creates flyers and other media for other departments. And as the company grows, Boudreault’s position will expand as well.

“We’re really excited to have someone with so much experience on our team,” said Jeff McRitchie, VP of Marketing for MyBinding.com. “She does as great job and I’m looking forward to seeing how she can help us improve our customers’ experience on our site.”